By Dave Dahl/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – The numbers are rocketing up, now that there has been a week of favorable weather, for Illinois crops.
The week just completed shows 69 percent of corn and 12 percent of soybeans for the year planted. That compares to the five-year averages of 47 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
“Producers in southern parts of Illinois made a good amount of planting progress, and they had a lot of catching up to do,” said Mark Schleusener, the USDA’s state statistician for Illinois. “They’d had a lot of wet soils earlier in April. They still lag behind the rest of the state, but they have narrowed the gap considerably.”
There was little to no rain last week, so Schleusener said farmers could use some this week.
